Toy lie detector



Aug. 13, 1940. c. J. DUNN To'Y LIE DETECTOR Filed Dec.'l8, 19392,211,195 v Torun DETEcTon OlarenceJflDunn, ,StQPauI-Minng assigner toLouis F. Dow`Companyi', a corporation of lviinnesotay j 'gApplicationnecmbr v18, 11539, serialize.` 309,837

This invention relates to toy? lie detectors;

The primary object of the" invention is topro vide a toy having anindicator hand or needle with which a heat and moisture-responsive de?`Vice is associated to effect operation of the irl-- dicator hand orneedle, the position of the indicator hand or needle at thefextreme leftAsignifying truth and the shift of the indicator :hand or l needle tothe extreme right indicatingfth'atf'a question asked has beenlansweredialsely;v f

A further object of the inventionzis to provide a toy lie detectorwherein-there is provided a casing of a size to be convenientlyfheldairrthe hand of the user. with a window openingin lthe top wall of thecasing throughwhich; apilvotally vmounted indicator handv or needle isvisible; An operating strip within-thecasingfor,the1inf dicator hand orneedle may vbeconstructedbf any material desired, suchas.Cellopl'Iane;Cel-y luloid, cellulose acetate, or a.Y combination ofsuch materials, so that when a portion of the: handiof the user, such asa thumb, `is placed" in proximity of said strip, the heat and moistureVof, thefhand will be transmitted through .a seriesfof perfora` tions inthe casing toact yuponthe--strip and leffect movement thereof for theAoperation lofthe indicator hand or needle. With the above and otherobjects-gin view that will become apparent as thenaturejof-therzinvvention is better understood, the samec'onsi'sts ingeneral of certainnovel details of: ,construc-t tion and combination ofparts hereinaftery, more fully described, illustrated in :theaccompanying drawing and claimed. 'y

In the drawing:

tector constructed in accordancewith the present invention, showing thewindow- Iopeninglin lthe cover of the casing through which theindicatorhand or needle may be viewedp Q 1 l j Figure 2 is a top plan view of,the casing, -with the cover removed illustrating the; indicator hand orneedle at 'its` extreme movement in ione direction indicating truthandfurther illustrated-f at its extreme movement in the opposite,vdirection indicating falsehood. Y. v Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinalsectional View taken on line 3-3v of Figure f2,r showing Vvthe manner ofmounting the .heat and moistureresponsive strip within thev casing,v

view taken on line 4-.4 of Figure .1, 'showing the mounting for theindicator ,hand or needle, Figure 5 is a cross-sectionalv-.view taken oni AFigure-8 is a detail sectional' Figure 1 is a perspective View ofya'toylie de- Figure 4 is al fragmentary horizontal sectional Figure 6isla fragmentary longitudinalsec,- tional viewl taken on line 6 6 ofFigure 2,- Figure 7 is a detail sectional View taken on line 'I-'IofFigure 1, showing the anchor means for .-theheat and moisture actuatedvstrip, and i 5' view Vtaken on line.,8'8 of Figure 2.

The toy lie detector comprises -a casingof aj I size tojbe convenientlygripped in thehand vand isof elongated formation, the bottom portion'ofY10? the casing-comprising a bottom wall I0, side walls IIl and I2,respectively, and end walls'l3." The `cover for the casingcomprisesaltopwali IA having a depending marginal' flange I5 overlyingthe upper'edge of they side and end walls yof 15'- the-bottom section ofthe casing. An arcuate window openingv I 6 extends transversely -ofl oneend of the top wall I4, and as shownv in Figures land; fingers Il''bent' from the edge walls of said window opening IIz pass througha.\Cello-. 20 t phane ,or4v like sheet I8 at the underside -of thetopvwall AI4to be bent into grippingengagement withYY saidV transparentsheet for retaining the lattergin position as-illustrated.

g The, mechanism within thecasing includes an 2,5 indicatorhand orneedle and mounting there-V forfthe latter comprising-a base plate vI9secured at opposite side edges thereof to the bottom wall IIU- by-Weldedsoldered or like strips 20 extending transversely of the bottom wall I0of-'the 30, casingas clearly shown in Figures 2, 3` and- 6.

AA pairof opposedupstanding guidelflanges 2I riseirom -the base plate I9adjacent the side wall` I2of`the casing, the base plate I9 being cut-vaway between said yflanges 2l as shown vin Figures 3,5' andgfi. AU'shaped support comprising upper and lower horizontal legs 22 and 23connected by 'a yerticalleg 24 has the lower leg 23 slid intopositionbeneath theguide anges 2i and into the cutg-away'portion in th-ebase plate II) between 40 said flanges 2|.

*The 'U-shaped support constitutes ra lbearing for vthe'indi'cator handor needle,`the latter cornprisingfa centralv plate portion'ZS carryingat one sidethereof 'between the upper and lower "ends 45 an 'offsetcylindrical barrel 26 in which'a vertical. bearing pinvr 21 is xed, theupper and lowerprojectingy ends of the bearing pin respectivelyhaving,freei bearingmountings in the upper and lowerhorizontal legs 22 and23`of the `U-shaped 50 support. `One side of the central platev 25 atthe upper edge thereof .carries an elongated indicator hand or finger28, while the other side of said plate 25 intermediate -the upper andlower ends,thereofr carries an arcuate arm 29, the bear-4v 55 ing forthe indicator handl or needle being adjacent the side wall I2 of thecasing While the outside arc of the arm 29 is adjacent the side wall I2of said casing. 'Ihe mounting for the indicator hand or needle and theconstruction of the latter are such as to cause the arcuate arm 29 tonormally lie adjacent the side wall I2 of the casing while the arrowhead 28a of the indicator hand or finger normally lies adjacent the sideWall II of the casing and at the left-hand side T of the window openingI6.

The operating means for the indicator hand or finger comprises a stripformed of any :plastic material desired that is capable of transmittingheat and moisture, `and such material may comprise Cellophane,Celluloid, cellulose acetate, or a combination of these materials, sucha strip of material being indicated by the reference` character 3Dunderlying the arcuate arm 2,9 of the indicator hand or needle. Theholding means for the heat and moisture-responsive strip 30 comprises ametallic plate 3| slidably anchored to the side wall I2 of the casing bymeans of flanges 32 overlying opposite side edges of the plate 3| withthe anges carried by a base plate' 33 secured as by solder at 34 to theside wall I2. The upper side edge of thevplate 3| has a notch 35 cuttherein into which `the depressed end 36 of the adiiacent flange 32ispressed to hold the plate 3| against longitudinal sliding movement.The end of the plate 3| overlying the baseplate 33 is bent at rightangles as at 31 to"provide an abutment or stop for the indicator handleor needle 28 that is shown in its dotted linelposition in Figure 2 lasengaged with said 'stop 31. The other end of the metallic plate 3|overlying the adjacent end of the heat and moisture-re? sponsive strip38, together with the adjacent portion of the side wall I2, as showninFigure 7, has coacting dents or depressions `V3Ia-fo`rnied therein forgripping the adjacent end 'of the heat and moisture-responsive strip 30.The free projecting end of the heat and moisture-responsive strip 30 isreinforced and inclosed by a folded ply oi light material 38. As shownin Figures 1 and 3, the side wall I2 of the casing in line with theheat-responsive strip 38 is provided with a plurality of perforations 39to facilitate the passage ofvheat and moisture from the hand of theuser.

The normal positions of the indicator hand or needle 28 and; arm 29 areshown by full lines in Figure 2, the arrow head 28*1 of the indicatorhand or needle being at the 'end of thefwindow opening I'I indicated atT'in Figurel to signify truthJ In the use of the toy the casing isgripped in the hand' anda question isasked,the thumb of the useroverlying the series of openings `39 in the sidewall, heat `and moistureof the thumb are transmitted through said openings to the heat andmoisture-responsive strip 30, the latter inthe presence of heat andmoisture flexing or bending to assume the dotted liner-position shown at3|)a in Figure 2, movement of the strip Sil moving the arcuate arm 29ofthe indicator hand or needle to shift the `sameto `the dotted lineposition shown in Figure 2, the. indicator hand `or finger moving on itspivot'pin 2T to the dotted line position shown in Figure'z "to theright-hand end of the slot indicated at"L in Figurei to signify thetelling Ora fanehoed; of course, the indicator hand or llinger alwaysmoves 'to the righthand side of the window opening I6, the device beinga toy and notin any man'- ner being operative as a scientiilc device ormechanism to indicate the telling of a truth or lie.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it is believedthat the construction and operation thereof will at once be apparent,and while there is herein shown and described the preferred embodimentthereof, it is to be understood that minor changes may be made in thedetails of construction, such as will fall Within the scope of theinvention as claimed.

I claim: v

1. A toy lie detector comprising a casing having a window openingtherein, an indicator finger movably mounted in the casing and viewablethrough the window opening and; normally occupying a position adjacentone end of the window opening, and means associated with the movableindicator finger and responsive to heat and moisture conditions of thehand of the user when holding the casing for moving said indicatoriingerin a direction away from its normal position and toward the other end ofthe window opening, and wherein the indicator finger is pivotallymounted intermediate its ends with one end normally engaged with theheat and moisture actuated means.

v2. A toy lie detector comprising a casing having a window openingtherein, an indicator nger `movably mounted in the casing and viewablethrough'the window opening and normally occupying a position adjacentone end of the window opening, and means associated with the movableindicator nger and responsive to heat and moisture conditions of thehand of the user when holding the casing for moving said indicatorfinger in a direction away from its normal position and toward the otherend of the window opening, and wherein the heat and moisture actuatedmeans includes a strip of material of the class of Cellophane, Celluloidor cellulose acetate. 3'. A toy lie detector comprising a casing havinga window opening therein, an indicator linger movably mounted in thecasing and viewable through the window opening and normally occupying aposition adjacent one end of the window opening, and means associatedwith the movable indicator nger and responsive to heat and moistureconditions'of the hand of the user when holding the casing for movingsaidl indicator finger in a direction away from its normal position andtoward the other end of the window opening, and wherein the heat andmoisture actuated means includes a strip of material atly engaged with aside wall of the casing, a holder for the strip secured to the side wallof the casing with one end of the strip extending beyond the holder withone end of the indicator nger normally engaged with the free extendedend of the strip. y

4. A toy lie detector comprising a casing having a window openingtherein, an indicator finger movably mounted in the casing and viewablethrough the window opening and normally occ'upying a position adjacentone end of the window opening, and means associated with the movableindicator finger and responsive to heat and moisture conditions of thehand of the user whenholding the casing for moving said indicator fingerin a direction away from its normal position and toward the other end ofthe Window opening, and wherein the heat and moisture actuated meansincludes a strip of material iiatly engagedr with a side wall of thecasing, a holder for the strip secured to the side wall of the casingwith one end of the strip extending beyond the holder with one end ofthe indicator iinger normally engaged with the free extended end of saidstrip and the side Wall of the casing hav ing a group of periorationstherein overlying said strip to facilitate passage of heat and moisturefrom the hand of the user to said heat and moisture-responsive strip.

5. A toy lie detector comprising a casing having a Window openingtherein, an indicator finger movably mounted in the casing and viewablethrough the window opening and normally occupying a position adjacentone end of the window opening, and means .associated with the movableindicator vringer and responsive to heat and moisture conditions of thehand of the user when holding the casing for moving said indi-7 catorfinger in a direction away from its normal position and toward the otherend of the Window opening, and wherein the heat and moisture actuatedmeans includes a strip of material flatly engaged with a side wall ofthe casing, a holder for the strip secured to the side wall of thecasing with one end of the strip extending beyond the holder with oneend of the indicator finger normally engaged With the free extended endof said strip andthe side wall of the casing having a group ofperforations therein overlying said strip to facilitate passage of heatand moisture from the hand of the user to said heat andmoisture-responsive strip, and means carried by said holder in the pathof movement of the indicator hand for limiting movement of the latteraway from its normal position.

` CLARENCE J. DUNN. i

